Chile’s Boric faces his first crisis after interior minister’s remarks

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Gabriel Boric’s leftist government faced its first major crisis Thursday after Interior Minister Izkia Siches accused the previous government of irregularities in the expulsion of migrants.

The head of the top cabinet department told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that a plane carrying Venezuelan migrants expelled during the 2018-2022 government of conservative Sebastián Piñera had returned to the country with the same passengers.

The remarks sparked an outcry among the right-wing opposition. Hours later, Siches declared on her Twitter account that she had published “false information” and apologized to her predecessor Rodrigo Delgado.

“Today (Wednesday) I gave false information in the Security Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and Deputies. For that, in the spirit of republicanism, I sincerely apologize to Rodrigo Delgado and his team,” the minister said.

The opposition considers the explanations insufficient and calls for the resignation of Siches, who met with the president on Thursday.

“We found that one of the planes that was deported to Venezuela returned with the same people, and that was something we had no idea about (…) with all the passengers that were deported,” the chief of staff said in her indictment before Congress.

“If we did that, the same day it would be on the front page of the evening newspaper La Segunda. So I congratulate the previous government because it was able to cover this up with dirt; I don’t know how, but this is something very serious,” she continued.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT SINCE HER APPOINTMENT

This is not the first time Siches, a 36-year-old independent doctor, has accused the previous government of irregularities in its migration policies. She mentioned the issue in an April 1 interview with El Diario de Atacama, although it didn’t cause a stir at the time.

Piñera’s policy of mass expulsions of irregular migrants, mostly Venezuelans, has not been without controversy.

The UN even expressed concern after a group of displaced people were shown publicly boarding a plane wearing white jumpsuits and escorted by police.

Siches, the first woman in Chile’s history to hold the post, hoarded political capital during the pandemic when she headed the medical association and was instrumental in the December election campaign that helped Boric win.

Even before her appointment, Siches came under fire from the opposition for her lack of experience, for which much of her cabinet, including Boric herself, was criticized.

Shortly after taking office, the minister made a controversial visit to La Araucanía, where there is a bitter conflict between the Chilean state, forestry companies, and Mapuche Indians, and had to be urgently evacuated after shots were fired upon her arrival in a conflict community.

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